The season is nearly upon us, and what good is the pre-season if you can't use it for some semi-baseless speculation?

A lot of stuff happens over the course of 32 teams playing 82 games apiece, and that includes everything from surprise over- or underperformance to devastating injuries. But in the pre-season, we at least get to pretend everyone will perform to their potential or beyond, and stay in the lineup for the vast majority of the season.

Is that realistic? Of course not. Is it easier than the alternative? You bet.

Please do not say to me, "What about [guy from the team you like]?" (and also do not say to me, "You didn't do one for the Lady Byng"). We can and should always allow for two or three other players to work their way into the mix, but these are just the guys who kind of jump off the page as candidates.

We started the series off last week with a look at five candidates for the Hart Memorial and Ted Lindsay trophies, and we've since followed up with another five candidates for the Norris Trophy and five more for the Vezina Trophy. Today, we're looking at five players with the best chance to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in the 2021-22 season. The candidates are presented in alphabetical order rather than their perceived chance to win.